Machine for perforating, scoring and slicing with feed means



Feb. 25, 1964 L. H. BISHOP MACHINE RoR PERFORMING, SCORING AND SLICINGwIII-I FEED MEANS 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Deo. '7, 1959 TIE. l

INVENTOR Ew/s /SHOP nummml I NNN NNN ,QTTENEVS Feb. 25, 1964 1 H. BISHOPMACHINE FOR FEEFORATING, scoEmG AND SLICING WITH FEED MEANS Filed Dec.7, v1959 '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Lew/s H. BISHOP HTTORNEVS Feb. 25,1964 L. H. BISHOP 3,122,040

MACHINE FOR PERFORATING, SCORING AND SLICING WITH FEED MEANS Filed Dec.7, 1959 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 TIE. 1E!

INVENToR. Ew/s /snoe um 3M 24%@ HTTORNE V5 Feb. 25, 1964 H. BISHOPMACHINE FOR PERF'ORATING, SCORING AND SLICING WITH FEED MEANS '7Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. '7, 1959 INVENTOR Lew/s H. /sHoP M Mag@ NONFeb. 25, 1964 1 H. BISHOP 3,122,040

MACHINE FOR PERFORATING, SCORING AND SLICING WITH FEED MEANS Filed Deo.'7, 1959 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Bgld if HTTO/.ZNEVS Feb. 25, 1964 L. H.BISHOP 3,122,040

MACHINE: RoR PERFORMING, SCORING AND sLIcING WITH NEED MEANS Filed Dec.7, 1959 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 5 INVENTOR. Ew/s /s/op '3l/gw IMK@ FTTORNEVS '7Sheets-Sheet 7 .MMI

SCORING AND L. H. BISHOP MACHINE FOR PERFORATING,

SLICING WITH FEED MEANS Feb. 25, 1964 Filed Dec.

INVENTOR. 5w/s H, /S//OP @Trag/V595 United States Patent O M3,ll22,tlitl MAEHINE FUR FERFURATING, SCGRENG AND SLIUNG 'lllll'llH FEEDlt/EANS Lewis Bishop, 964 Ringwood Ave., Menlo Faris, Salif. Filed Een.'7, i959, Ser. No. 357,993 l Claims. (El. SLi-94) This invention relatesgenerally to machines for per* forating, scoring and slicing and moreparticularly to automatic machines of this type.

This application is a continuation-impart of my application Serial No.554,891, tiled December 22, 1955, now abandoned.

Heretofore, perforating machines have been hand fed. Attempts have beenmade to adapt such manual machines to automatic operation, but generallythey have been unsuccessful. The use of hand fed machines isobjectionable because the output of such machines is generally verylimited and also because the operation of such machines is very tediousand boring because the sheets must be fed one by one into the machine.

In general, it is an object of the present invention to provide amachine for perforating, scoring and slicing which is completelyautomatic and which overcomes the aforementioned objections.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a machine of theabove character in which particularly novel means are provided forfeeding sheets one by one into the cutting wheels.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the abovecharacter in which the sheets are fed one by one `rota the bottom of apile of sheets.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the abovecharacter in which the means for feeding the sheets one by one need notbe adjusted for different thickness of paper.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a machine of theabove character in which the sheets are guided on both sides.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the abovecharacter in which the guides are adjustable laterally of the feedtable.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the abovecharacter in which pull rollers are provided for receiving the sheetsfrom the feed rollers, and in which pull rollers are driven faster thanthe feed rollers so that each sheet will properly clear the next sheetas the sheets are stacked.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a machine of theabove character in which the pull rollers grip both sides of the paperto prevent the sheets from being twisted sideways as they pass throughthe cutting knives.

Another' object of the invention is to provide a machine of the abovecharacter in which the cutting knivesmay be readily interchanged andadjusted laterally of the feed table.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the abovecharacter with improved means for mounting the cutting knives.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the abovecharacter which will accommodate thicker or coarser grained paper merelyby tilting the entire machine on its framework.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the abovecharacter in which the output rate of the machine may be adjusted.

Additional objects and features of the invention will appear from thefollowing description in which the preferred embodiment has been setforth in detail in the accompanying drawing.

lti@ Patented Fehr. 25, i964 ICC Referring to the drawing:

FIGURE l is a side elevational view of the machine incorporating thepresent invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged plan View of the machine shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the machine oppositethe side shown in FIGURE l.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line d-rlof FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5 5 of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional View taken along the line 6*-6 of FIGURE5.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged view of the cutting wheels looking along theline 7 7 of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 8 is a cross-sectional View taken along the line -S of FlG-URE 7.

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged detail view of one of the guide assemblies.

FIGURE l() is an enlarged detail View of one of the cutting knives andone of the drive rollers.

FIGURE 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ill-1i ofFIGURE 4.

FIGURE 12 is a detail view looking along the line lill2 of FIGURE 11.

FIGURE 13 is an enlarged detail view of the feed table.

FIGURE 14 is a cross-sectional View taken along the line NM1-fi ofFIGURE 13.

FIGURE l5 is a cross-sectional View taken along the line LiL-I5 ofFIGURE 13.

FIGURE I6 is an enlarged detail view of the motor base and the means formoving the motorl base.

FIGURE 17 is an enlarged detail view of the means for tilting themachine.

FIGURE 18 is an enlarged detail view of one of the strippers.

FIGURE 19 is a detail view looking along the line )L9-I9 of FIGURE 10.

The machine shown in the drawing consists of a framework ll, a feedtable 12, a feeding, pulling and cutting assembly 13, and a lay boy ordelivery table 14.

The framework il consists of H-shaped members I7 and I8 which arefastened together by a pair of tie rods I9 and 2i. A pair of invertedV-shaped members 22 and 23 are mounted upon the upper portions of theH-sbaped members l? and 1S by suitable means such as bolts 2d andprovide a support for a pivot rod 26 which has its ends xed in theapexes of the members 22 and 23.

The feeding, pulling and cutting assembly i3 consists of a pair of sideplates 2S and 2g which have their lower ends pivotally mounted upon therod 26. The side plates 2% and 29 are held in a predetermined spacedrelation ship by tie rods 3l, 32, 33 and 3d.

A feed roller assembly 38 is disposed. between the plates 23 and 29 andconsists of a bottom feed roller 39 which is Xed to a shaft lll whichhas its ends journalled in the side plates 23 and 29. One end of theshaft is provided with a knurled portion l2 so that the shaft can beturned by hand if desired, and the other end provided with a sprocketwheel d3 which is adapted to be driven in a manner hereinafterdescribed. The sprocket wheel 43 is rotatably mounted on a clutch memberi4 which is keyed to the shaft lll. The clutch member i4 is providedwith a plurality of recesses which loosely contain rollers 47.` Therollers are spring urged against a drum 43a which is an integral part ofthe sprocket wheel d3. As is well known to those skilled in the art thisconstruction forms a one-way clutch and permits shaft 41 to overrun thespeed of sprocket wheel d3 for a purpose hereinafter described. Thebottoni fee roller 39 is comprised of a hub 43 which is fixed to .3 theshaft 41 by suitable means such as a set screw 49. A ring of resilientmaterial 51, such as soft rubber, is mounted in an annular groove 52 inthe periphery of the hub 43.

The feed roller assembly 38 is adapted to cooperate with a hold-backroller assembly d which is comprised of a mounting member 56 slidablymounted on shaft 33 and fixed thereto by suitable means such as a screw57. A pair of pins 5S are slidably mounted in the mounting member 56 andhave their opposite ends iXed in the side portions 59a and 59b of aU-shaped block 59 (FIGURES 4 and ll). A pair of plates 61 and 62 are xedto the U-shaped block 59 by suitable means such as screws 63. TheU-shaped block 59 is provided with two depending portions 64 and 66between which a roller 67 of resilient material such as rubber ismounted. The roller 67 is mounted upon a hub 68 which is held inposition by a screw 69 whose head 76 engages depending portion 64 andwhose other end is threaded into depending portion 66. An opening 71 isprovided in plate 61 so that the screw may be turned to vary the spacingbetween depending portions 64 and 66 to clamp the roller 67 to preventits rotation.

It will be noted from FIGURE l2 that the plates 61 and 62 have lowerpointed portions 72 which extend slightly beyond the verticalcenter-line of the roller 67 in the direction of rotation of the bottomfeed roller 39 and which also extend a slight distance below the lowestportion of the periphery of the roller 67. The plates 61 and 62 are alsoprovided with inclined portions 73 which are inclined downwardly towardthe pointed portions 72. The portions 72 have guide surfaces below andforward of the line of contact between the bottom feed roller 39 and thehold-back roller 67 to urge the sheet of material through the feed meansinto tirm engagement with the rotating bottom feed roller after thesheet of material has been gripped by the bottom feed roller.

It has been found desirable that the ring 51 of roller 39 be ofrelatively soft rubber and that the roller 67 be of a. substantiallyharder rubber. However, the rubber ring 51 should be resilient enough sothat it will grasp paper, but it should not be so soft that it willgrasp the paper too rmly.

The screw 69 is normally tightened so that the roller 67 cannot berotated by the frictional engagement of the bottom feed roller 39. Thedegree of frictional contact between the roller 39 and the roller 67 isadapted to be varied by a screw 74 which is threaded through themounting member 56 and engages the portion 59b of the U-shaped block 59.A spring 76 is mounted on the screw 74 and within a hole 77 in themounting member 56. One end of the spring engages the mounting member 56and the other end of the spring engages the portion 59a of the U-shapedblock 59 to urge apart member 56 and the block 59. Thus, by turning thescrew '74 counterclockwise, as viewed in FIGURE ll, the roller 67 willbe lifted away from the roller 39 by the spring 76. Clockwise rotationof the screw 74 will move the roller 67 into closer engagement with theroller 39. The screw 74 can also be adjusted to take care of any wear inroller 67. l

A pulling or advancing and cutting assembly 81 is also disposed betweenthe side plates 28 and 29 and consists of a lower shaft 82 and an uppershaft 83. The ends of the shafts are journalled in bushings S4 which areslidably mounted in rectangular slots 86 in the side plates 28 and 29.As can be seen from FIG- URE 6, each of the bushings is provided with apair of at surfaces 87 which are adapted to be accommodated within therectangular slots 86. The ends of the lower and upper shafts S2 and 83are continuously urged apart by springs 88 mounted within therectangular slots 86 and having their ends engaging holes 89 in thebushings 84.

The shafts S2 and S3 are adapted to be adjusted vertically with respectto each other by a pair of adjustment devices 91, each consisting of abar 92 mounted over the upper end of the rectangular slot 86 andfastened to the respective side plate by screws 93. A screw 94 isthreaded into the bar 92 and its lower end is adapted to engage abushing S4 on shaft 83. It is apparent that by turning the screw 94 in aclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 6, the upper shaft 83 is urgeddownwardly toward the lower shaft 82 for a purpose hereinafterdescribed. Nuts 96 are mounted on the screw 94 above the bar 92 andserve to lock the screw in position after the desired position of theupper shaft 83 is obtained relative to the lower shaft d2.

A pair of pull wheels 97 are mounted on the upper shaft 33 and areadapted to engage a pair of pull rollers 9d mounted on the lower shaftS2. Pull wheels 97 and pull rollers 98 form advancing means and areadapted to be positioned longitudinally of the shafts 32 and 83. Theyare adapted to be iixed thereto by suitable means such as screws 99threaded into the wheels and engaging the associated shaft. The pullwheels 97 are provided with 0 rings 101 mounted in groove 102 in theperipheries of the wheels. The O rings 101 are formed of a suitableresilient material such as rubber and are adapted to engage the pullrollers 93 which are formed of a suitable material such as metal.

A plurality of die wheels 104 are mounted on the lower shaft 82 and eachconsist of a hub 106 which is adapted to be positioned longitudinally ofthe shaft 82 and fixed thereto by suitable means such as a screw 107.The hub is formed with a two step flanged portion 108 providing annularsurfaces 199 and 110. A resilient O ring 111 is mounted adjacent surface199 and an annular die member 112 is mounted adjacent surface 116 andrests on O ring 111. A snap ring 113 mounted in a groove 114 of the hub106 serves to maintain the die member 112 in position against the firststep and against the resilient O ring 111. The O ring 1G19 provides aprecision cushion which maintains the die member 112 in a trueperpendicular position relative to the shaft 32. However, as is Wellknown to those skilled in the art, die members of this type are groundso that the die surface 115 is 2 off vertical.

A plurality of knife wheels 116 are mounted on the shaft 83 and areadapted to cooperate with the die wheels 104. The knife wheels 116 areformed in a manner very similar to that of the die wheels 104. However,the knife member 117 is provided with a tapered outer margin 118 and thecutting surface 119, which is adapted to engage the die member 112, isalso ground 2 oif vertical. By grinding the die and knife membersslightly off vertical, the members tend to continuously sharpenthemselves.

If it is desired to use the knife wheels 116 for perforating, the outerperiphery of the knife member 117 is provided with notches 121, as shownin the drawing. However, if it is desired to slice, and not perforate,knife wheels are provided in which the knife members are not notched. Toscore, it is merely necessary to provide die and knife wheels providedwith the proper members, as is well known to those skilled in the art.

By assembling the pulling cutting assembly 31 in the hereinbeforedescribed manner, the pull wheels 97 and the pull rollers 98 togetherwith the die wheels 194 and the knife wheels 116 may be easily shifted,nterchanged, or replaced. By removing the adjustment means 91, one orboth ends of the shaft S3 may be lifted out of the rectangular slots 86,as shown in Fl'GURE 5. rfhe lower shaft 82 may be lifted out by thesameV manner. The bushings S4 are readily removable facilitating easyreplacement or addition of die wheels V101i and knife wheels 116.

Suitable means is provided for driving shafts d2 and 83. Thus, one endof shaft S3 is provided with a sprocket Wheel 123 and one end of shaft32 is provided with a pair of sprocket wheels 124tand 126. A chain belt1217 is mounted on sprocket Wheels 113 and 124.VL and has its exteriorsurface engaging sprocket wheel 123. The chain belt 12:7 is maintainedin a relatively taut condition by a sprocket wheel 123 which isrotatably mounted on one end of crank 129 pivotally mounted on sideplate 251 at 131. The other end of crank 129 is fixed to one end of aspring 132, the other end of which is fastened to the side plate 29 at Ahandle 134 is mounted on the crank 12h to lower the idler sprocket wheel123 and loose the chain belt 177 so that shaft 41 can be rotated byhand.

Sprocket wheel 116 is adapted to be driven by chain belt from a sprocketwheel 136. Sprocket wheel 136 is mounted on a jack shaft 137 which isjournalled on an interior framework 144. A pulley 138 is mounted on thejack shaft between the side plates Ztl and 29 and is adapted to bedriven by a belt 139. The belt 139 is driven by a pulley 141 mounted onthe output shaft 142 of a motor 143 which is adjustably carried byframework 1st-d. lulley 1031 is a Reeves pulley in which the side platesforming the pulley are adapted to be spread apart by the belt 1.19 tovary the speed of rotation of pulley 133.

Framework 1194 consists of a pair of spaced longitudinal angle members14o which are fastened together by transverse angle members 147 and1st-8. The longitudinal members 11d are both mounted on tie rod 3d andone of the longitudinal members ldd is fixed to side plate 29 bysuitable means such as an anchor bolt 149 to hx framework to framework11. A pair of rods 151 are mounted on transverse members 147 and andslidably carry right angle brac. ets 152 for movement longitudinaily ofthe rods The motor 143 is mounted upon the brackets 152 by suitablemeans such as bolts 1533. A worm 11d, rotated by a hand wheel 156, isjournalled in member 147 and is threaded into one of the right anglemembers 152.. 1t is apparent that by rotating the hand wheel in onedirection or the other, the motor 143 is moved longitudinally of theframework 145. As described previousi, the side plates of the pulley M1may be urged apart. Thus, by moving the motor longltudinally of theframework ldd away from pulley 1338, the tension on the V belt 139 isincreased to cause the side plates of the pulley lid-1 to move apart andthe belt to move in towards the center of the pulley 141 to decrease thespeed of rotation or" shaft 137, and thus varying the speed of rotationof the sprocket wheels 123 and 121tfor a purpose hereinafter described.When the motor is moved toward pulley 138, the speed of pulley 13d isincreased. A switch 157 is provided to control the operation of themotor 143.

A plurality of strippers 15? are mounted on tie rod 32 adjacent theknife wheels 116 and consist of a clamp 161 which is provided with ascrew 162 for fastening the clamp to the tie rod 32. A pair of fingersare mounted on the bottom portion of the clamp and extend parallel toeach other and are adaptde to straddle a ltnife wheel 11s-9 to preventthe sheets of paper from following the knife wheel.

A guard 154 is mounted above the knife wheels 11o and consists of a pairof hinge members 16o rotatably mounted on shaft 33 and which areconnected to a suitable pane 167 of transparent material such as plasticby bolts 168. The guard permits observation of the cutting wheels andstill ai'iords protection. lt may be rotated to an out-of-the-wayposition, as shown in FIGURE 3.

A pair of whiskers 169 are also mounted on tie rod 32 and guide thesheets of paper towards the delivery table 1d, and consist of a collar171 which is slidably mounted on the rod 32 and adapted to be fixedthereto by screw 1723. A thin strip 173 of a flexible material isfastened to the collar 171 and extends down into the delivery table 1d.

Suitable means is provided for tilting the feeding, pulling and cuttingassembly 13 relative to the framework 11. Thus, as shown particularly inFIGURE 17, a U-sliaped clamp 177 is rotatably mounted on tie rod 3d andis adapted to receive a rod 173 which has one end fixed to member 179rotatably mounted on tie rod 19. 011e end of the clamp 177 is providedwith a screw 1511 which is rotatably mounted in portion 177:1 of theclamp and threaded into portion 1771) of the clamp. A handle 182 isprovided for rotating the screw. A collar 133 is mounted on the free endof the rod 178 and serves as a stop. lt is apparent that since the sideplates 28 and Z9 are pivoted on the siaft 26, the angular position ofthe feeding, pulling and cutting assembly 13 relative to the framework11 can be shifted merely by moving the clamp 177 longitudinally of therod 178. The assembly 13 can be maintained in a desired position merelyby tightening screw 131.

rThe feed table 12 is fixed to the side plates 28 and 29 and consists ofa pair of elongate bars 111 which are fixed to the side plates 2li and'Z9 by bolts 192. A flat plate 193 is mounted upon the bars 191 bysuitable means such as screws A plurality of reinforcing bars 196 andtwo aligned right angle members 197 are fixed to plate 193 and extendlaterally across the bottom surlface thereof. An elongate slot 199extends longitudinally of toe plate 193 and equidistant from the sidesthereof. A bolt 2411 is mounted in the slot and has a head 2h12 whichons es the slot, The bolt extend-s through angle member 3 and isthreaded into a cylindrical post 2M. The angle member Llull is fixed toa backvstop plate 23%. It is apparent that merely by tightening orloosening the pos-t the bach-stop plate may be moved longitudinally ofthe feed table plate 1213.

A plurality of support rods 2tlg are mounted beneath the feed tableplate 193 and are spaced Ilaterally across the width of th table. Thesupport rods 2tlg' are provided with pointed ends 211 and a bent portion212. The rods are slidably mounted in rubber grommets 213 mounted intheangle member and extend through openings 21d in bars 1%. rubber grommetsfrictionally engage the support rods and hold the rods in position afterthey `have `been moved to a predetermined position for a purposehereinafter described.

A pair of guide members 217 are mounted above the table plate '123 andconsist of a substantially L shaped luide clamp 2113 which has one endslidably mounted von a shaft 219 which has its end rotatably mounted inside plates and A substantially 5...-shaped guide shoe is adapted toengage shaft opposite the point the shaft is engaged by guide clamp7.113 and `is pivotaly connected Ato guide clamp 21S at point A spring223 is mounted between the other ends of the guide clamp and thA guideshoe and normally urges the guide shoe 221 into agement with the `shaft219 to prevent sliding Inovement of the guide clamp 218 longitudinallyof the shaft 219. A guide plate 22d is mounted on guide clamp 213.

1t is apparent that when the guide shoe 22.1 is grasped and the spring21.59 compressed, that the guide shoe 211 will release the shaft toallow the entire guide member 217 to be moved longitudinally of theshaft 219. After the guide member 217 has been placed in the properposition, the guide shoe is released and the spring urges the guide shoe12.1 into engagement with the shaft 21@ to fix the position of the guidemember.

@ne end of the shaft 219 is threaded into side plate 23 and is providedwith a knob 21255 by which the shaft 219 can be rotated. Rotation ofshaft 2119 moves the guide mem-bers laterally of the feed table plate`193 and maintains their spaced relationship.

The lay boy or delivery table 1d is pivotally connected to the other endof the side plates 28 and 29 opposite the feed table 12. The deliverytable 14 is formed in a manner very 'similar to the feed plate 12 and isfixed to a rod 7127 by connectors The rod 227 is rotatably mounted inside plates 2d and 29. The guide plates 239, fixed t0 the guide me.ibers E19, are substantially larger than guide plates and the stopyplate 21H11 is also substantially larger than stop plate 2115. Anadjustment bar 247 is Tf pivotally connected to the delivery table 14 atand iS provided with a plurality of notches 243 on its free end whichare adapted to engage rod 31 to hold the delivery table 14- in apredetermined position. As shown in EEG- URE l, the delivery table 14can be moved from a horizontal position to a downwardly inclinedposition.

Operation of our machine may now be described as follows: Let it beassumed that it is desired to perforate a plurality of sheets of paper251 along lines 152 and 153 as shown in FIGURE 2. First the desirednumber of die wheels 104 and knife wheels 116 are mounted upon shafts S2and 33, the number of die wheels and the number of knife wheels beingequal to the number of rows of perforations it is desired to make in thesheets of paper. A pair of pull wheels 97 and a pair of pull rollers 98are also mounted upon the same shafts. The die wheels 164, the knifewheels 116, the pull wheels 97 and the pull rollers 98 are positionedlongitudinally of the shafts 82 and 83, as shown in FIGURE 2.

The adjustment devices 91 are then set so that the knife wheels 116overlap the die wheels 1M by a predetermined amount. It has been foundthat .0115 of an inch overlap is very satisfactory. Overlapping of theknife wheels and die wheels causes the periphery of the O-rings 161 incontact with the pull rollers 9S to be slightly flattened as 4shown inFIGURES 10 and 19 for a purpose hereinafter described.

The sheets 251 are centered over the bottom feed roller 39. Roller 67 isadjusted by the screw /iso that it engages feed roller 39. Normally, theadjustment is such that the bottom feed roller 39 will grasp a sheet 251but not too firmly. The guide members 217 are adjusted longitudinally ofthe shaft 219 so that they are adjacent the opposite side edges of thesheets of paper 251. The back stop 296 is brought into engagement withthe rear edges of the sheets of paper and is positioned in such a mannerthat the front edges of the sheets of paper are pushed into engagementwith the hold back roller 67 and the rear edges o-f all of the sheets ofpaper, except the bottom sheet, are lifted up above the feed table plate193, as shown in FIGURE 4.

The guide rods 2il9 are moved forward so that the pointed ends 211underlie the knife wheels 1'16.

Switch 157' is operated to energize the motor 143. The shafts 41, 82 and83 are driven in the direction shown in FIGURE 4 and the followingsequence of operations takes place. The lowest sheet in the stack ofsheets is engaged by the bottom feed roller 39 which draws the sheetfrom the stack of sheets and feeds it between the feed roller 39 and thehold back roller 67. rEhe sheet is progressively moved to the left asviewed in FiGURE 4 and the free end of the sheet is carried by thesupport rods 2tl9. The sheet is fed into or presented to the pulling oradvancing and cutting assembly 81. As shown in FIGURE 19, the O-rings101 are slightly ilattened and protrude rearwardly or to the night asviewed in FIGURE 4 so that they engage the front edge of the sheet beingfed before the sheet is engaged by the knife wheels 11d or the diewheels 1&4. The pull wheels 97 and the pull rollers 93 are normallypositioned so that they are adiacent the side edges of the sheet. Thus,both sides of the sheet are grasped firmly by the G-rings 161 and serveto pull or advance the sheet into the knife wheels 1:16 which perforatethe sheet. The pull wheels and rollers prevent the sheet from beingtwisted sideways. Thus, more perforations may be cut in one side of thepaper if desired.

The pull wheels 97 and the pull rollers 9S are driven Aat a speed suchthat the sheet of paper is withdrawn more rapidly from the bottom feedroller 39 than it is being advanced by the bottom feed roller 39. Thefree-wheeling clutch 44 permits the sheet to be withdrawn from theroller 39 by allowing the roller to be rotated more rapidly than it isbeing driven by the motor 143.

By withdrawing the sheets from the bottom feed roller more rapidly thanthey are being advanced by the bottom feed roller, the spacing betweenthe sheets is increased, as shown in FlGURE 4, to permit stacking of thesheets one on top of the other on the delivery table 14 and also topermit faster operation of the machine.

The strippers 159 prevent the sheets of paper from following the knifewheels 116. The whiskers i@ urge the sheets downwardly upon the deliverytable 1d.

The speed of operation of the machine can be adjusted by movement of thehand wheel 156 as hereinbefore described.

lontinued operation of the machine causes the sheets to be fedautomatically one by one from the bottom of the stack of sheets by thefeed roller into the pull wheels and rollers 97 and 9S and into theknife wheels 11d until all of the sheets are perforated.

Various grades and thicknesses of paper can be accommodated by themachines without adjustment of the hold back roller assembly 54. This ispossible because the back stop 2% takes a substantial portion of theweight oif of the bottom sheet and at the sarne time urges the sheetinto engagement with the roller 67. The front edge of the bottom sheetrests upon the bottoni feed roller 39. The sheets are normally heldslightly above the rods Ztl@ and feed table plate 193 so that gravitywill aid feeding.

However, with sheets of thicker or coarser material, it may be desirableto tilt the entire device by operating the handle 182 so that gravitywill give greater assistance in feeding sheets onto the bottom feedroller 39. Thus, as shown in EiGURE l, the entire assembly would bepivoted about rod 26 in a counterclockwise direction. it is notnecessary to alter the relative positions of the feed table 12 and thedelivery table 14 with respect to the feeding, pulling and cuttingassembly 13.

The hold back roller o7 serves to prevent more than one sheet from beingfed into the knife wheel 116 by the bottom feed roller 39. When theroller 67 has become slightly worn, it may be rotated slightly topresent a new surface by loosening screw 69. The friction between thebottom sheet and the bottom feed roller 39 is greater than the frictionbetween the bottom sheet and the next adjacent sheet and hence alsoserves to prevent more than one sheet at a time from being fed into theknife wheels 116. Once the sheet has been graped by the bottom feedroller 39, it is not freed until it has been released by the pull wheelsand rollers 97 and 98.

It has been found that the machine is particularly easy to operate andeasy to service and maintain. Set up time is considerably reduced andproduction may be increased as much as to 100% over that of aconventional hand fed machine. For example, it is possible to feed16,000 lineal feet of paper through my machine per hour, which isconsiderably above that of a conventional manual machine.

My machine is also provided with many other additional labor savingfeatures. As described previously, the guide members 217 are adjustablelongitudinally of the shaft 219. After they have once been set, they maybe moved laterally of the feed table top 193i by knob 228. The backstops are also readily movabie merely by a loosening post Zilli.

lt is apparent from the foregoing that 1 have provided a machine withwhich sheets of paper can be perforated with a minimum of effort. Thesheets are rapidly and automatically fed through the machine in perfectalignment.

l claim:

l. in apparatus of the character described, a feed table adapted tocarry a pile of sheets of paper, a continuously driven feed rollerhaving a uniform annular resilient surface, said feed roller underlyingsaid sheets and being adapted to engage the under sides of said sheetsof paper to present said sheets one by one from the bottom of the pile,means including a one-way clutch for driving said feed roller, astationary hold-back roller generally overlying said feed roller andengaging the front edges of all of the sheets in the bottom portion ofsaid pile except the bottom sheet to prevent removal of more than onesheet at a time by the feed roller, means engaging the hold-back rollerfor preventing rotation of said hold-back roller, adjustable generallyvertical backstop means urging the front edges of the sheets of paperinto engagement with the hold-back roller, said generally verticalbackstop means being positioned so that the rear edges of substantiallyall of the sheets except the bottom sheet or sheets are raised above thebottom of the pile to thereby remove a substantial portion of the Weightof the pile from the bottom sheet to facilitate feeding of the bottomsheet by the feed roller sheet advancing means for engaging andadvancing the sheet as the same are presented by the feed means but at agreater speed, means for cutting or scoring said sheets while they arebeing advanced by said advancing means, said oneway clutch permittingsaid advancing means to advance the sheets at a speed more rapidly thanthe speed at which the sheets are presented by the feed roller tothereby increase the spacing between the sheets to facilitate stackingof the sheets.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein the feed roller is in the form of arelatively soft material and the holdback roller is in the form of asubstantially harder material to facilitate feeding of the sheets ofpaper.

3. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said advancing means and said meansfor cutting and scoring are mount ed on the same shafts.

4. Apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said advancing means engages thesheets before they are engaged by the cutting or scoring means.

5. In a machine for perforating, slicing and scoring sheets of paper, aframework, a feed table mounted on said framework and adapted to carry apile of sheets of paper, a pair of guide members mounted on said tableand adapted to guide the side edges of the sheets of paper, feed meansadjacent said feed table and adapted to automatically remove the sheetsof paper one by one from the bottom of the pile of sheets, a pair ofshafts removably journalled in said framework, said shafts being mountedone above the other, a plurality of pull rollers and wheels mounted inopposed relation on said shafts, a plurality of die Wheels mounted onone of said shafts, a plurality of knife wheels mounted on the other ofsaid shafts and adapted to engage said die wheels, a delivery tablemounted on said framework, and means for rotating said shafts andoperating said feed means so that the pull rollers and wheels on theshafts advance the sheets more rapidly than said feed means to increasethe spacing between the sheets to facilitate stacking of the sheets uponthe delivery table, said feed means including a rotating bottom feedroller of resilient material having a uniform annular surface adapted toengage the bottom sides of the sheets of paper, a stationary holdbackroller of resilient material overlying said bottom feed roller andadapted to engage said bottom feed roller, said hold-back roller havinga hardness substantially greater than the hardness of the bottom feedroller, said holdback roller engaging all of said sheets of paper exceptthe bottom sheet to prevent more than one sheet of paper from being fedinto the pull rollers and Wheels by said bottom feed roller, and a pairof guide members mounted on opposite sides of the hold-back roller, saidlast named guide members having lower guide surfaces below and forwardof the line of contact between the bottom feed roller and the hold-backroller to urge the sheet of material passing through the feed means intofirm en- 10 gagement with the rotating bottom feed roller, after thesheet of material has been gripped by the bottom feed roller.

6. A machine as in claim 5 wherein said feed means also includes adriving member, one-way clutch means connecting said driving member tosaid bottom feed roller so that the bottom feed roller can overrun saiddriving member.

7. A machine as in claim 5 together with a shaft mounted in saidframework adjacent said feed table wherein said guide member is slidablymounted on said last named shaft for movement longitudinally of saidlast named shaft, said first named guide members comprising a guideclamp having one end engaging said last named shaft, a guide shoepivotally connected to said guide clamp and engaging said last named.shaft opposite said clamp and means for yieldably urging said guide shoeinto engagement with said clamp to the position of said first namedguide member on said last named shaft.

8. in a machine for perforating, slicing and scoring s .eets of paper, aframework, a pair of side frame members pivotally mounted on saidframework, a feed table mounted on said side frame members, platesmounted on said feed table guiding the side edges of the sheets ofpaper, feed means mounted between said side frame members and adjacentsaid feed table and adapted to automatically remove the sieets of paperone by one from the bottom of the pile of sheets, a pair of shaftsremovably journaled in said side frame members, said shafts beingmounted one above the other, a plurality of pull rollers and wheelsmounted in opposed relation on said shafts, a plurality of die Wheelsmounted on one of said shafts, a plurality of knife wheels mounted onthe other of said shafts and adapted to engage said die wheels, adelivery table mounted on said side frame members, means for rotatingsaid shafts and operating said feed means to advance the sheets betweenthe die and the knife wheels, and means mounted on the framework foradjusting the angular position of the side frame members to therebyadjust the angular position of the feed table when the sheets of paperare carried thereon to change the angle of the sheets of paper as theyare picked up by the feed means; the feed means, the pull rollers andwheels, the die wheels and knife wheels, being arranged so that thesheets of paper travel in a substantially straight course during passagethrough the same for delivery to the delivery table.

9. A machine as in claim 8, together with means for adjusting theangular position of the delivery table relative to the side framemembers.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 323,295Burton July 28, 1885 459,920 Wright Sept. 22, 1891 643,895 Gohlke Feb.2P, 1900 751,284 Harris Feb. 2, 1904 801,916 Rudolphi Oct. 17, 1905852,375 Carlton Apr. 30, 1907 1,457,158 Gammeter May 29, 1923 1,548,107Street Aug. 4, 1925 1,596,056 Mader Aug. 17, 1926 1,646,107 Pitney etal. Slet. 18, 1927 2,181,197 Moritz Nov. 28, 1939 2,220,264 MorrisonNov. 5, 1940 2,304,499 Hayes Dec. 8, 1942 2,468,842 Sporleder May 3,1949 2,531,841 Cashin Nov. 28, 1950 2,940,754 Stootholf lune 14, 1960

1. IN APPARATUS OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, A FEED TABLE ADAPTED TOCARRY A PILE OF SHEETS OF PAPER, A CONTINUOUSLY DRIVEN FEED ROLLERHAVING A UNIFORM ANNULAR RESILIENT SURFACE, SAID FEED ROLLER UNDERLYINGSAID SHEETS AND BEING ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE UNDER SIDES OF SAID SHEETSOF PAPER TO PRESENT SAID SHEETS ONE BY ONE FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE PILE,MEANS INCLUDING A ONE-WAY CLUTCH FOR DRIVING SAID FEED ROLLER, ASTATIONARY HOLD-BACK ROLLER GENERALLY OVERLYING SAID FEED ROLLER ANDENGAGING THE FRONT EDGES OF ALL OF THE SHEETS IN THE BOTTOM PORTION OFSAID PILE EXCEPT THE BOTTOM SHEET TO PREVENT REMOVAL OF MORE THAN ONESHEET AT A TIME BY THE FEED ROLLER, MEANS ENGAGING THE HOLD-BACK ROLLERFOR PREVENTING ROTATION OF SAID HOLD-BACK ROLLER, ADJUSTABLE GENERALLYVERTICAL BACKSTOP MEANS URGING THE FRONT EDGES OF THE SHEETS OF PAPERINTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE HOLD-BACK ROLLER, SAID GENERALLY VERTICALBACKSTOP MEANS BEING POSITIONED SO THAT THE REAR EDGES OF SUBSTANTIALLYALL OF THE SHEETS EXCEPT THE BOTTOM SHEET OR SHEETS ARE RAISED ABOVE THEBOTTOM OF THE PILE TO THEREBY REMOVE A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE WEIGHTOF THE PILE FROM THE BOTTOM SHEET TO FACILITATE FEEDING OF THE BOTTOMSHEET BY THE FEED ROLLER SHEET AD-